June 22, 2015
Dear Member of Congress:
The 147 undersigned organizations representing patients, health professionals, hospitals,
scientists, employers, and insurers strongly oppose the fiscal year (FY) 2016 Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill as posted by the
subcommittee on June 16. We are gravely concerned by the assault on science, particularly the
elimination of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
AHRQ’s mission is to generate the evidence necessary to build a high-quality, high-value health
care system. Put simply, AHRQ-funded research is being used in hospitals, private practices,
health departments, and communities across the nation to make our health care system less
complex and costly. Its research fuels innovation and improves quality, identifies waste, and
enhances efficiency in the health care system. It is used by patients, their loved ones, and their
health care professionals to make the right health care decisions for themselves and their
families. This research helps Americans get their money’s worth when it comes to health care.
We need more of it, not less.
To “terminate” AHRQ in the current fiscal environment is pennywise and pound foolish. Our
nation spends $3 trillion annually on health care – the largest share of which are federal
purchases through Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, insurance
exchanges, TRICARE, and veterans’ health care. Americans deserve reliable information on
how to deliver the best possible care, at the greatest value, with the best outcomes. AHRQfunded health services research provides those answers.
We are deeply disappointed by the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related
Agencies appropriations bill and especially the attack on AHRQ. We urge you, in the
strongest possible terms, to oppose any bill that terminates this agency and its
important research.
For more information on the Friends of AHRQ, contact Emily Holubowich at 202.484.1100 or
eholubowich@dc-crd.com.
Sincerely,
Academic Pediatric Association
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
AcademyHealth
Adult Congenital Heart Association
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Alliance for Aging Research
America's Essential Hospitals
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN)
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Nursing
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN)
American Association for Physician Leadership
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination (AANAC)
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Association on Health and Disability
American Board of Medical Specialties
American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP)
American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
American College of Preventive Medicine
American College of Surgeons
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
American Hospital Association
American Medical Student Association
American Nephrology Nurses' Association
American Nurses Association (ANA)
American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
American Organization of Nurse Executives
American Osteopathic Association
American Pediatric Society
American Pediatric Surgical Nurses Association (APSNA)
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Nutrition
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Nephrology
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN)
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
American Thoracic Society
Arbor Research Collaborative for Health
ARHP: the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Association of Academic Health Centers
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU)
Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE)
Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM)
Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD)
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN)
Association of Population Centers
Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
Association of University Radiologists (AUR)
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)
Billings Clinic
BJC HealthCare
Boston University School of Public Health
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals
Cedars-Sinai Health System
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Coalition for Health Funding
Coalition of National Health Education Organizations (CNHEO)
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc. (COA)
Connecticut Certification Board
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Cornell University
Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
ECRI Institute
Group Health Cooperative
Guidelines International Network/North America (G-I-N/NA)
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
Healthy Teen Network
Heart Rhythm Society
HIV Medicine Association
HIV Services, Alameda Health Systems
Illinois Alcohol and Drug Dependence Association
Indiana University
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium
International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses (ISPN)
Kaiser Permanente
Lakeshore Foundation
March of Dimes
Marshfield Clinic Health System
Medica Research Institute
Montefiore Medical Center
Morehouse School of Medicine
Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine
NAPHSIS
National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Black Nurses Association
National Center for Health Research
National Gerontological Nurses Association
National Hemophilia Foundation
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Kidney Foundation
National League for Nursing
National Nursing Centers Consortium
National Organization for Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH)
North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG)
Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs (NOVA)
Oncology Nursing Society
Oregon Health & Science University
Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute (PAMFRI)
Pediatric Policy Council
Penn Medicine
Penn State College of Medicine
Physician Assistant Education Association
Population Association of America
Public Health Institute
RTI International
Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM)
Society for Pediatric Research
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Women's Health Research
Society of General Internal Medicine
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM)
The Center for Healthcare Organizational and Innovation Research (CHOIR), School of Public
Health, UC-Berkeley
Trust for America's Health
Tulane University
University for the Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University
of Minnesota
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC)
University of South Florida Health
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Madison
UNM Health Sciences Center
UNTHSC School of Public Health
Wateree AIDS Task Force, Sumter, SC 29150
WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease